Fastening inserting machine



May 4,1937. 0. A. ROBINSON I Y FASTENING INSERTING MACHINE Filed Feb.12, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 VENT Q May 4, 1937;

C. A. ROBINSON FASTENING I'NSERTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb.12, 1936 May 4, 1937. c. A. ROBINSON 2,079,040 7 FASTENING INSERTINGMACHINE Filed Feb. 12, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 5' May 4, 1937.

C.A.ROHNSON FASTENING INSERTING MACHINE 4 Sheets- Sheet 4 Filed Feb.l2,l936

m MN @m Patented May 4, 1937 cmrso STATES FASTENING 'INSER'RING MACHINECharles A. Robinson, Salem, Massufiassignor to United .Shoe MachineryCorporation, Paterson, N. 1.1., .a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationFebruary 12, 1936, Serial No. 63,613

14 Claims.

The present invention relates to fastening inserting machines, forexample staple forming and driving machines. The illustrated machineembodying the invention is especially designed for sealing radio tubecartons.

A typical staple forming and driving machine is that shown in UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 1,015,930, granted February 13, 1 91 2, uponan application ofWilliam Borden. Such a machine is provided with a wirefeeding mechanism, an inside former over which the wire is fed, a cuttertor "then severing an unformed staple from the main bodyof the wire, anoutside former for bending the staple legs over the inside former, adriving throat, means for retracting the inside former from the drivingpath, and means for driving the staple through the work against ananvil. In such machines, as found in use, the

anvil is movable downwardly to admit the work and to permit its movementthroughthe machine, and is moved upwardly to hold the work firmlyagainst the throat prior to the driving of :a staple. Such machinesdrive several staples per second and are generally used to fastensubstantially =flat pieces :of work together.

The art is in need of a machine which will Ebe more convenient than themovable anvil machine for use :on work of .such anature that its upwardmovement the :anvil engenders difiiculty, or inconvenience. Such work,for example, is the stapling otf various types of ornaments :to shoes,as lbows, straps, ,pompons, stapling shank pieces to insoles, and thelike. fsuch work requires careflfl adjustment of the piece to lbesta-pled upon the a main work piece, together with the preservation ofthe adjustment until after the staple is driven. To this end, it isdesirable that the work, once arranged, should not run the risk :ofdisturbance bye. movement of the anvil.

it has already-been proposedtomove the staple driving mechanism :up and"down above a stationany anvil, for the purposes above discussed, and

to emit the driving throat, driving the staple directly from the outsideformer into and through the work. Thus, the lower portion of the outsideso far from it (two inches or more) that the operator has di-fiicul-tyinplacing hisworkaccurately under the outside former upon the anvil, whichis hidden by the work, andthe staples are therefore not "driven withsufiicient accuracy. It has not been practicable to lower the insideformer sufficiently to avoid this disadvantage without riskinginterference between the operator's hands or the work and the wirefeeding mechanism, which is located at the level of the top of theinside former. 7

It is anobjectof the present invention to provide a simple, cheap andconvenient machine for the purpose discussed, which will avoid thedisadvantages mentioned. I have accordingly provided a machine in whichthe threat is retained and is movable instead of the anvil, to theextent, only, that is requisite to accommodate the types of workdiscussed (roughly inch), th-us avoiding undue movement of the =outsideformer. I have found it advantageous also to reduce to a minimum theamount of metal so moved. Accordingly, the reciprocatingpart-s (asidefrom the driver) have been limited to the throat, the outside former andthe wire cutter, and to avoid complicating the machine with separateoperating means for them all, I have mounted them all on one slide, sothat they all "have the same movement and a-sing-le operating meanssuffices for all. While amovementasgreat as /1 of an inch is notnecessary for the outside former and cutter, it does not prejudice thesuccessful operation of the machine.

It is necessary, in staple forming machines, to

provide a space below the outside former, and-beside the inside former,in which the legs of a staple being formed may have room to swing, andit is also necessary, in machines driving staples formed of fine Wire,to provide a guide which will support them against crippling, whilebeing driven. In other words, there must be a continuous guide from thelower end of the outside former to the lower end of the throat. Theserequirements are all met by the present invention, in accord ance withwhich the outside former and throat are fixedly mounted in separatedpositions upon the slide above mentioned, and a movable guide wallcarrying block is mounted in the interval between them. This block ismovable outward to provide the requisite space for inserting theunformed staple and bending the staple legs and movable inward to closethe opening and complete the guide passage after the format-ion of thestaple.

This structure enables the machine to "be used upon work requiring aconsiderable opening between the anvil and throat for arranging thework, without making the opening disadvantageously large and withoutdanger of disturbing the arrangement of the work by movement of theanvil, while the small mass of the reciprocating parts does not engenderundue vibration when run at the speed usual for such machines.

The illustrated machine is designed for the express purpose of sealingradio tube cartons. The ordinary such carton consists of a straightprismatic pasteboard tube with flanged end caps inserted in its ends andit is desired to staple the flanges of the caps to all of the sides ofthe tube. Such a machine, to be convenient in use, should be arranged todrive one staple in each side of the tube and then stop, to permitchanging the work or changing ends on the same piece. It is desirablealso to provide an automatic work handling mechanism which will turn thecarton to the proper position to receive each staple.

It is a further object of the present invention to satisfy theserequirements. I have accordingly provided a mechanism for holding andcentering the work piece, for rotating it an aliquot part of 360 in eachstaple forming and driving cycle, and for stopping it after the workpiece has been rotated 360". Thus, all skill on the part of the operatorin managing the work so as to center the staples properly and instopping the machine promptly is rendered unnecessary.

In accordance with further features of the invention, the machine iscapable of driving one staple, if desired, and then stoppingautomatically, and the work holder is adjustable to a broad range ofsizes of cartons without loss of rapidity and accuracy.

These and other features of the invention comprising certaincombinations and arrangements of parts will be apparent from thefollowing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention shownin the drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the stapleforming and driving mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the staple forming anddriving mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the same;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line IVIV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective detail of the same;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VI-VI of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a side elevation of the whole machine;

Fig. 8 is a detail, partly in section, of the work handling mechanism;

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of a work piece; and

Figs. 10 and 11 are enlarged perspective details of the work handlingmechanism.

The machine is operated from a main shaft Hi mounted in the upper partof the main frame l2. The front end of the shaft ID carries a radiallyadjustable arm I4 having a roll l6 at its outer end. The roll, as itswings around the axis of the shaft, depresses a lever I8 pivoted at 28on the main frame. The lever [B is connected to a driver plunger 22 by ashort link 24. The plunger 22 slides vertically in a guideway formed ina second plunger 26, which is itself mounted in a guideway in the mainframe, and is moved vertically by a lever 28 also pivoted at 20 andhaving a roll 30, running in a cam slot 32, in a disk 34 mounted on theshaft Iii. The driving end of the lever 28 has a slot 35 working on aroll 36 on the upper end of the plunger 26, The lever I8 is raised by aspring 38, and the lever 28 is operated in both directions: by its cam32.

The inside former 40 is mounted to slide forward and backwardhorizontally in a guideway in the main frame I2. It has no verticalmovement. It is spring pressed toward operative position by a spring 42,in which position shoulders 43 (Figs. 2 and 5) abut against a surface onthe slide or plunger 26 and the former 43 is forced back intoinoperative position by a cam lug 44 pivoted on the frame I2, andoperated by the plunger 26 as it descends. This withdrawal occurs afterthe outside former has descended and formed the staple, as is common inmachines of this type.

The outside former 46 and driving throat 48 are fixedly mounted on theplunger 26. The driver 58 is mounted on the plunger 22, and works in aguideway 52 formed in the body of the outside former 46. This guidewayis nor mally continuous with guideways 54, 56 formed above and in thedriving throat 48. The legs of the staple slide down the guideways 52,54, 56 as the staple is being driven, and the guideways 52, 54, 56permit free passage of the driver 5 The guideway 54 is formed in alittle block 58, mounted in a slot 59 in the front of the throat 48, andcapable of forward and backward sliding movement in the slot relativelyto the plunger 26. It has a dowel 60 projecting from its rear face whichslides in a hole in the throat 48, and is normally pulled back into sucha position that the guideways 52, 54, 56 are all in line, by a spring62. It is forced outward and forward by a cam surface 64 (Fig. '7) onthe main frame, cooperating with the rear end of the dowel 66 as theplunger 26 descends. This displacement is for the purpose of permittingthe legs of the staple being formed to be bent down behind it, in thespace 65, in position to fit in the guideway 54 when the block 58returns to normal position. after the staple has been formed, the dowel50 having then passed the cam 64.

The staple forming and driving parts are covered by a slotted coverplate 202 (Fig. 1) which permits easy inspection. The block 58 isreadily removable, by disconnecting the spring 62, and permits easyrelief of clogging or other trouble below the driver 50.

The wire handling mechanism is shown best in Fig. 1. The wire is drawnfrom a reel (not shown) and passes into a guide 82 between two feedwheels 84, 85. The wheel 86 is an idler and is mounted on a lever 88pivoted at 90 and spring held toward the wheel 84. A lug 92, on thelever 28, forces the lever 88 counterclockwise as the lever 28 swingsdown, to release the wire 80 at such time, in order that the resettingof the wheel 84 may not withdraw the wire. The wire 86 passes through aconduit 94 at the end of which is an adjustable hardened die 96 the exitorifice in which serves as a cutter. A movable cutter 98, adjustablybolted at 99 to the plunger 25, cooperates with the die 96 to sever apiece of wire as the plunger 26 descends. The wheel 84 is oscillated byan arm I08 mounted on the axis of the wheel 84, and operated by a linkI02 adjustable in a slot in the arm I09, and connected to an eccentricstrap I04 on the shaft ID. The machine is so timed that the wheel 86 isseparated from the wheel 84 when the arm I00 is swinging clockwise, sothat the wire 80 will never be dragged backward by the reverse movementof the feed wheel 84. The length of the severed piece of wire, and hencethe length of the legs of the staple to be formed, is regulated byadjusting the die 96, and the adjustments of the cutter :98 and of thelink 1 02 in the slot in the .arm 4110.

As above stated, the illustrated machine is designed for-the specificpurpose of stapling radio tube cartons. Such cartons consist -of squarehollow tubes 41x0 ('Figx9) with inserted-caps :I I 2.-at the ends. Thecaps I I2 have flanges :-I I4 which most inside the ends of the tubesIll]; and are fastened in place by staples H6, which it is the purposeof the illustrated machine to form and drive. The tube IiI-B is'heldibetween four slightly resilient arms M8 (Figs. 7, 8 and 10),, soas to hold a ;flange 1H4 ever and in contact with an anvil 4.2-0directly beneath the throat 8.

The arms .I:I8 are supported ona rotatinghead A22 in which they areradially .slidable. Each arm H8 has a pin- IM working in .a camslot "2.6in .a swivel plate 1 28 held in adjusted position by a .screw 1.25)which also acts as one of the pins I24. Turning the swivel plate 123adjusts the arms H8 simultaneously to fit any size of tube -I It and tocenter it -on the axis of the swivel plate. The head 122 is mounted on ahollow shaft 130 working in'a bearingrl 32,'which =is verticallyadjustable at I34 to compensate for varying thicknesses and sizes ofwork, the anvil I29 being rigidly mounted on the frame I2 by means ofthe shaft 436 whichiextends through the hollow shaft I30.

It is necessary toadjust :the work :carrier vertically when the armsI-IB arespread wider apart in order to make the work rest on the top ofthe anvil I20 properly, and also in order that the arms H8 may notstrike the throat 38 when they are rotated. A safety device is providedto insure that this be done. When thelower righthand arm M8 (-Fig. 10)is moved outward tar enough, it strikes one arm -.of a little bell crankI31 mounted on the bearing slide IS-2 and having .a cam slot It-I in itsother arm cooperating with azpin I31 on aframe member 186 (Fig. 10),.Thus, the arms 1L8 cannot be moved out far enough to interfere with thethroat Without interierenoe with the member .I3'I, which will remind theoperator that he must vertically drop the whole Work carrier. Theelement I3!) is driven by an Gldham coupling I38 connecting it with .arotatable member 14-0 on the shaft I36. The member 1 M3 has .-four teethshown as pins I '42 equally spacedaround its periphery. These pins aresuccessivelyengaged :by a hook 144 on a rod I45 operated by an eccentricstrap I48 (Fig. 7-) on the shaft ID, rotating the work carrier at eachrevolution of the shaft I0. overthrowing of the work carrier isprevented by a spring pawl [5.0 (Fig. 11) which engages successively inappropriate notches ital in the member Mill.

.The illustrated machine is constructed .to drive four staples at eachactuation and then to stop to enable the operator to insert a new cartonend for stapling. ,This is accomplished as follows, referringparticularly to Fig. 7. The .treadle rod I52 tips a ,bell crank I54,pivoted at I55, clo ckwise. This bell crank has a vertical arm I58,which is thrown out from under the disconnecting cam 160 of a Hortonclutch, thus permitting the continuously driven pulley lei! to engageand drive the shaft It). Another vertical arm Hi4 of the bell crank Ifiil pulls to the right (Fig. 7) .a rod I66 having a roll I63 on itsfront end. When the machine is at rest the roll rests in a depression Ill] (Fig. 11) in the periphery of the member M0. After the member I 40has turned slightly the roll I68 rides on its periphery and holds thebell crank I54 in stripped position, until the depression ;|-l' 0 comesaround again and releases the rod .Fl t6 and :bell crank 1554. The bellcrank is then thrown' counterclockwise .by the :spring :hl Zyand themember i258 catches ithe'cam I;60;as soon as :it comes around, and stopsthe machine, the (operator having ,released the :tneadle after the firststaple has been driven. The stopping of the machine facilitated by abrake :disk llr'lte which :slides to the right along the shaft ll 0(Fig. 17') against a disk "H15 liast-on'theshaft 13. "This disk -l 'I iiis released, when the machine is 'treadled, by the link H6, connectingthe arm LL94 :and a toggle l til, which, when broken by itreadling themachine, pulls the lever I89 counterclockwise.

The lever :Itt athen forces the yoke I82 counterclockwise, about thefixed pivot Hill :of the lever 51841, :and thus frees :the brake disk.When the roll M8 falls into the depression 'II li, the toggle ,lstraightens and the brake is :set.

The anvil and work supporting shaft 136 (Fig. 8-) :is mounted on "aframe bracket .IIifi which is pivotally .mounted on the main frame at1188, and is supported by :a strong spring Is9ll (Fig. 7), so that theanvil has a certain amount of resilience. under :the blow of the drivingthroat :43. A rotary adjustment about the center 488 is provided at I82and a vertical adjustment between "two parts of the bracket I86 isprovided at its, 7 and. 11).

It will sometimes'be desired to drive one staple only, stopping themachine at the end of .one revolution instead "of four, ,asabovedescribed. In such case the operator will throw up a little finger I196(Fig. 10). to the dotted line position. in which it will cam out thewedge-shaped end of the hook M4 against the spring-pressed lever 4'98pivoted :at 260 :on the member I385, .as the hook is lowered, andprevent its engaging a pin M2 as it rises. This prevents the turning ofthe Work carrier, and the roll I68 will drop back into the depression.Illll as soon as the treadle is released. Ordinarily the operator willhold the treadle down until after the first staple is driven, so thatthe turning-of the workcarrier will keep the machine in operation, butin case only one staple is to be driven the operator will merely tap thetreadle.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a stapling machine, an inside former, a reciprocable outsideformer and a reciprocable driving throat having the same amplitude ofreciprocation and the same actuating means, the outside former and thethroat having .alined guides for a formed staple, and being separated byan interval corresponding to the length of the longest staple themachine is designed to handle, a filler block constructed to fill thesaid interval and having a staple guide arranged to aline with thepreviously mentioned .guides when the block is in operative position,means timed to withdraw the filler block after a staple has been drivento provide a space for the feeding of a succeeding unformed staple overthe inside former and for the bending of its legs by the outside former,means for returning it to operative position after the said succeedingstaple is formed, means for moving the inside former from the drivingpath of the formed staple, and a driver for driving the staple throughthe guides in the filler block and throat, the filler block.

remaining in operative position during the driv ing of the staple andbeing dis-placed therefrom only by the means described above.

I (Figs.

2. In a stapling machine, a normally fixed anvil, a reciprocable slidecarrying a driving throat, the throat and the slide above the throatbeing provided with a guide for the driving of a formed staple therein,a side wall of the guide above the throat being removable away from theopposed wall to provide an opening through which an unformed staple maybe fed and in which the legs of the said unformed staple may be bent asit is formed, a cam on the machine frame for removing the said sidewall, and means for replacing the said removable wall to complete thedriving guide, after the formation of the staple.

3. In a stapling machine, a normally fixed anvil, a reciprocable slidecarrying a driving throat, the throat and the slide above the throatbeing provided with a guide for the driving of a formed staple therein,cam means on the main frame of the machine and on the slide for moving aside wall of the guide above the throat away from the opposed wall toprovide an opening through which an unformed staple may be fed and inwhich the legs of the said unformed staple may be bent as it is formed,and means for replacing the said removable wall to complete the drivingguide, after the formation of the staple.

4. In a staple forming and driving machine, an anvil, an inside formerlocated at a fixed distance above the anvil, a slide carrying an outsideformer movable to cooperate with the said inside former to form a stapleand a driving throat located at a fixed distance below the outsideformer, a filler block constructed to bridge the said fixed distance andto be withdrawn while the staple is being formed, to provide a space forfeeding an unformed staple over the inside former and for bending itslegs, said throat and said filler block, when it is in closed position,forming a continuous guide for the formed staple while it is beingdriven, a cam located between the machine frame and the filler block formoving the filler block, and a cam located between the slide and theinside former for Withdrawing the inside former after the formation ofthe staple.

5. In a staple forming and driving machine, an anvil, a driver, aninside former located at a fixed distance above the anvil, an outsideformer movable to cooperate with the said inside former to form astaple, a driving throat located at a fixed distance below the outsideformer, and a filler block constructed to bridge the said fixed distanceand to be withdrawn while the staple is being formed, to provide a spacefor feeding an unformed staple over the inside former and for bendingits legs, said throat and said filler block, when it is in closedposition, forming a continuous driver-fitting guide for the formedstaple while it is being driven.

6. In a stapling machine, a staple driving means, a work holder arrangedto hold a work piece around the periphery of which staples are to bedriven, mechanism for giving said work holder a step-by-step rotation,one step in each staple driving cycle of the machine, a clutchcontrolling member, and a cam mounted integrally with the work holdercooperating with the member to hold the clutch in operation until thework holder has rotated 360 and then to disconnect the clutch.

7. In a stapling machine, a staple driving means, a work holder arrangedto hold a work piece around the periphery of which staples are to bedriven, mechanism for giving said work holder a step-by-step rotation,one step in each staple driving cycle of the machine, a driving clutchresiliently urged toward inoperative position, a member arranged to holdthe clutch in operative position, and a cam mounted integrally with thework holder arranged to cooperate with the said member to hold theclutch in operative position during a complete rotation of the worksupport, and to release said member at the end of such rotation to stopthe machine.

8. In a stapling machine, staple driving mechanism, an anvil, and a worksupport arranged to hold and to rotate a work piece between the anviland the staple driving mechanism, said work support having workcontacting members simultaneously and equally adjustable toward and fromthe axis of rotation of the work support to accommodate work ofdifferent sizes.

9. In a stapling machine, staple driving mechanism, an anvil, a worksupport arranged to hold and to rotate a work piece between the anviland the staple driving mechanism, said work support having a head and aplurality of work holding fingers laterally adjustable to differentfixed positions on said head, and a member arranged to effect suchadjustments of all the said fingers simultaneously and equally.

10. In a stapling machine, staple driving mechanism, an anvil, and awork support arranged to hold and to rotate a work piece between theanvil and the staple driving mechanism, said work support having workcontacting members simultaneously adjustable toward and from the axis ofrotation of the work support, the work support, as a whole, beingadjustable along the line in which the driving mechanism operates, tobring work of varying sizes, when held in the work support, into properrelation to the anvil.

11. In a stapling machine, staple driving mechanism, an anvil, a worksupport arranged to hold and to rotate a work piece between the anviland the staple driving mechanism, said work support having workcontacting members simultaneously adjustable toward and from the axis ofrotation of the work support, the work support, as a whole, beingadjustable along the line in which the driving mechanism operates, tobring work of varying sizes, when held in the work support, into properrelation to the anvil, and a member for inhibiting the said adjustmentof the work contacting members beyond a certain amplitude, unless thework support, as a whole, is adjusted away from the staple drivingmechanism, in order to prevent interference between the work contactingmembers and the staple driving mechanism.

12. In a stapling machine, staple driving mechanism, an anvil, a worksupport arranged to hold and to rotate a work piece between the anviland the staple driving mechanism, said work support having workcontacting members simultaneously adjustable toward and from the axis ofrotation of the work support, a slide on which the work support ismounted, whereby the work support, as a whole, is adjustable in the lineof operation of the staple driving mechanism, and a cam mechanismconnecting the slide and the machine frame, and having an arm lying inthe line of adjustment of one of said work contacting members, wherebythe work contacting members cannot be adjusted outward beyond apredetermined amount without adjusting the said slide also, wherebyinterference between the work contacting members and the staple drivingmechanism is prevented.

13. In a stapling machine, staple driving and clenching means, arotatable work holder, means for giving the work holder a rotation of analiquot part of 360 in each staple driving cycle of the machine, saidmeans comprising teeth on. the holder and a reciprocable pawl engagingsaid teeth, one by one, to turn the holder, and a member for inhibitingthe action of said pawl, in case it is desired todrive only one staplein a work piece.

14. In a stapling machine, staple driving and clenching means, arotatable work holder, means for giving the work holder a rotation of anallquot part of 360 in each staple driving cycle of the machine, saidmeans comprising teeth on the holder and a reciprocable pawl engagingsaid teeth, one by one, to turn the holder, said pawl having a camsurface, and a cam member movable to engage said cam surface to directthe pawl away from said teeth, to inhibit the rotation of the workholder, when desired.

CHARLES A. ROBINSON.

